Freeze Up

[Greyhair]

I've recently been burning dvd's. I rip them with Smartripper, prepare the project with dvd2avi, encode using 2-pass in TMPGEnc, author/burn in Ulead Movie Factory. I'm using the silver disks (least expensive) from esbuy and I play them on an Apex 5131.

Here's the problem,

On the dvd's I've burned, they play and look great until about 1.5 hours into the video. They will then begin to freeze and hiccup a bit. They usually will continue to play to the end after getting over what seems to be these glitch spots.

I've played the disks on two different Apex players with the same result at the same spot in the dvd, which leads me to think it's not the player. My thinking right now is that it's cheap media? What do you think and any suggestions? I am running a rip, authored by Ulead, through Prassi right now for test and burn to rule out the burning software.

Any helps/suggestions/experiences greatly appreciated.

[dmonty]

This is a known issue with generic DVD-r media. You can try burning at 1x but this does not work for everybody. The problem with cheap media is that the quality does not stay constant from one batch to the next. Look at your blanks. Does the dye look uneven, does it swirl, or look smuged? Feel the outer edge, is it smooth or bumpy? Does it look as if its been "pressed" evenly? I would recommend trying different media.


There is a good thread discussing this very topic at:
http://forum.vcdhelp.com/viewtopic.php?t=89891

[Greyhair]

Thanks for the response and the link. I have read that thread and am following it. However, it looks to me like most people are not having problems with the esbuy silver. Also, what makes me somewhat unsure about the media being the culprit is that the glitch seems to occur, more or less, towards the end of the disk every time. Beginnings have always played well. Make me wonder about the heating problem suggested (it is pretty hot where I am).

Anyway, I purchased some other media and am burning with other programs to try and isolate the problem. If I learn anything, I'll put it here.

Also, please, if anyone has any other suggestions I'd gladly hear it.